Should the schools make up the time lost by closing?

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thedaras

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I was involved in a conversation today with some parents and some teachers.
One said that their school was open tomorrow and expressed surprise at this.

All of the primary schools where I live are closed,so I asked how come this particular school was open.

The teacher said it was open yesterday and only 5 kids turned up to his class.
And they ended up contacting the parents to request them to collect the children early if at all possible.Which most of them did.

He said that getting to his school was extremely difficult for both the parents and the teachers,but the school principle was insisting on opening till 11 o clock,as if they open at 8.55 and close at 11 ,they don't have to make the time up later.

Now forgive me for being cynical ,but isn't this just unbelievable!
They go in for two hours and that means they dont have to make up the rest of the time!!
 
I dont have a problem with people not getting to work in these conditions,nor do I have any issues with parents not wanting to drive/walk their kids in these conditions to school.

But isnt it quite cynical that the principle will open for two hours ,knowing the majority of kids and staff cant make it in,and knowing this lets them off the hook should they be asked to make up the time.
 
As 5 kids showed up, I can't see why the school didn't stay open. Is there a minimum number of pupils needed to teach?

I also think they should make the time up again. This type of weather will probably be usual this time of year from now on.

I was half hour late last week because my car door was frozen. My boss didn't asked me to make up the time because she didn't have to.
 
becky said:
As 5 kids showed up, I can't see why the school didn't stay open. Is there a minimum number of pupils needed to teach?

I also think they should make the time up again. This type of weather will probably be usual this time of year from now on.

I was half hour late last week because my car door was frozen. My boss didn't asked me to make up the time because she didn't have to.
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So the school should make up the time but you shouldn't?
 
I think she means she made up the time without being asked (my reading of it).
I feel at primary level they really will nto miss that much at this time of year if they miss a few days. However if our winters are going to continue to be this cold they could do away with the long mid-term breaks,easter and Christmas breaks.
 
My son missed a week of school during the first cold snap, no mention of it being made up. He is pretty good at studying alone but he says he really could have done with proper tuition, he is doing his Leaving Certificate this year so missing a week is a big deal. This week they cancelled school at lunch time on Tuesday, not such a big deal as they were doing end of term tests but he was disappointed not to sit them.

I don't think it matters so much for Primary School but Secondary Schools should absolutely be made to make up as much of the time as possible. My son doesn't go back to school now until 10th January, I don't see why they couldn't go back on 4th.
 
If we continue to get winters like this it might make sense to review the long summer holidays for secondary schools. Surely two months would be enough.
 
In the UK they generally finish end third week of July and go back beginning of September, so around 6 weeks is the norm for the summer break. My sister over there has 4 children and it's plenty of time for both children and parents.
 
JP1234 said:
My son missed a week of school during the first cold snap, no mention of it being made up. He is pretty good at studying alone but he says he really could have done with proper tuition, he is doing his Leaving Certificate this year so missing a week is a big deal. This week they cancelled school at lunch time on Tuesday, not such a big deal as they were doing end of term tests but he was disappointed not to sit them.

I don't think it matters so much for Primary School but Secondary Schools should absolutely be made to make up as much of the time as possible. My son doesn't go back to school now until 10th January, I don't see why they couldn't go back on 4th.
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There is a standardised school year , many teachers and parents may have booked holidays to coincide with same .

This standardised year is to be reviewed next year and given the fact that the current bad winter may be a foretaste of things to come this may have a bearing on this review , undoubtetdly however the various unions will seek rewards for any such concession.

As an aside who's to say that the weather on the 4th January won't be equally as bad or worse than today ?
 
JP1234 said:
In the UK they generally finish end third week of July and go back beginning of September, so around 6 weeks is the norm for the summer break. My sister over there has 4 children and it's plenty of time for both children and parents.
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Except we spend most of our time as kids studying and as adults working, so I think long summer holidays should remain and let them enjoy the free time.
 
I think in some continental schools they build in an extra week at the end of the school year to make up time if necessary - if there have been missed days, they stay on for the extra week (or days) but if there are no missed days they don't have to do the last week.
 
It's not realy a big deal for primary school. For 3rd and 6th year in secondary it's something entirely different

I suppose one way to do it is add a week at the end of the year to a teachers contract. If it's not needed then great, go as normal. But if you need it to make up lost time then activate it

This would have to be negotiated though

orka explained it better then me ^^
 
I want to clarify one thing:-
PRINCIPAL = first in rank or importance
PRINCIPLE = A basic truth or a general law.
 
thedaras said:
opheila;....

People and glass houses eh..:rolleyes:
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OMG, I can't believe you went through all my previous posts to find a spelling error; how diligent of you. I just happened to notice the very commonly misspelt principal/principle word.
 
The determination of some to expose even the smallest spelling error . . . How thoughtlass!
 
primary schools closing

My primary school kids have had 4 days of school this December due to the weather. Their school closed due to ice, then snow and now they're off until Jan 10th for holidays. I'm considering home schooling them!
 
liaconn said:
If we continue to get winters like this it might make sense to review the long summer holidays for secondary schools. Surely two months would be enough.
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JP1234 said:
In the UK they generally finish end third week of July and go back beginning of September, so around 6 weeks is the norm for the summer break. My sister over there has 4 children and it's plenty of time for both children and parents.
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There is significant educational value in non-school activities. The social and personal skills learnt by kids who are just 'hanging around', i.e. playing with their peers on their bikes or playing football or whatever are important, maybe more important than some of the formal schooling.
 
ophelia said:
OMG, I can't believe you went through all my previous posts to find a spelling error; how diligent of you. I just happened to notice the very commonly misspelt principal/principle word.
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It was the "principal ";) of it!!!
And I didn't have to go through "all " your previous posts either.it was just a few..as I said people and glass houses ..
It didnt look like you were correcting a spelling mistake to me,it looked like you were trying to "educate" the great unwashed ,by posting the meaning of each word.
In fact as you will see in my original post ,I know the meaning of the word,but on this occasion did not spell it correctly..calm down ,it could be "worser"..
 
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